One year, one tennis player. Carlos Alcaraz lives with historical ambitions, such as the Grand Slam count, but he does not escape the symbolism of finishing a season as the number one in the ATP ranking. This 2025 is his, it already is. He was the best at certain moments - the comeback at Roland Garros, the dominance at the US Open - but he was also the best overall. He proclaimed more than once that the world ranking and points did not matter to him, but only pushed himself with such demands. It is a significant success. A vindicating success.
Until now, there was criticism about his consistency: an intermittent genius, the wonder that doesn't last. But this season has put an end to that. After defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 and 6-1 in the last match of the ATP Finals group stage, Alcaraz ensured finishing the year at the top of the world ranking and confirmed his path as a legend. Whether he reaches the numbers of those who came before him or not, it can no longer be said that it was due to inconsistency.
Only once before had he closed a season as number one, and it was very different. It was the 2022 of discovery. He was a teenager impacting the world. Now this 2025 is something else. He is still young, of course, but he is no longer a promise: he is the one in charge. Only his historic rivalry with Jannik Sinner could put an asterisk: the Italian missed three months - although it was due to doping. In any case, that doubt also has a solution.
This Sunday, Alcaraz and Sinner could face each other in the final of the finals and, with everything in favor of the Italian - the court and the crowd - a victory for the Spanish would be definitive this season. Before that, both will have to go through the semifinals, but... who can defeat them? On Saturday, Sinner will face Alex De Miñaur, his favorite victim - their head-to-head record is 12-0 - and Alcaraz will face the winner of the match between Alexander Zverev and Félix Auger-Aliassime. Under different circumstances, both would be considerable opponents on an indoor hard surface, but in this tournament, the number one is truly the number one.
"This means the world to me. If I'm honest, at the beginning of the year, it seemed like a very difficult, very distant goal, but as the season progressed, I saw it getting closer. Tournament by tournament, I approached Jannik in the rankings and in the end, I was able to achieve it. I am very proud of myself and my team," commented Alcaraz after the match, who will receive the trophy on Friday accrediting him as the winner of the season. Against Musetti, he left no doubt that he was.
Although nerves gripped him, in crucial moments he knew how to seize victory as he should. In the first set, in the first half-hour, he made more errors than desired, but focused on holding his serve against an opponent who did more than usual. Musetti ran more, hit harder with his forehand, came to the net more; in short, he sought success.
It didn't work for him either. Alcaraz was determined to close out the ATP ranking of the year and took advantage of his weaknesses. Neither had enjoyed break opportunities when, with 5-4 on the scoreboard, the Spanish player grew on the court to take the first set and, in reality, the entire match. He even had the luxury of missing a set point: he resolved it on the second attempt. At the end of the match, his passionate celebration held the tension of his battle with Sinner in the world rankings and, at the same time, the discomfort he experienced during the match.
Rarely had Alcaraz been in such a situation; rarely had something similar existed in the history of the cold ATP Finals: the audience was against him. During the warm-up in the afternoon, he already heard timid whistles, a slight booing, but during the match, the Italian fans sided with Musetti at all times and did not hesitate to boo the Spanish player whenever they had the chance. They celebrated his mistakes as much as the Italian's successes. "Lorenzo, Lorenzo, Lorenzo," and so on until the last point. It wasn't serious - he could remember the last Rome Masters 1000, when he defeated Sinner in a similar atmosphere - but it was strange. In any case, nothing changed: this 2025 is, without a doubt, Alcaraz's.